A searchable public glossary for OldRoot: established terminology, systems, materials, places, and concepts collected in one reference.
A person transformed by the original Genesis event into a human anchored to a high-order physical domain. Ascendants are a small, finite Genesis-only category; their total remains unknown to the public, and later artificial Abyron subjects are not automatically Ascendants.
Experimental biotechnology used in Adrián Zúñiga’s bioengineering. The public origin label is Bioengineered; the technology is unrelated to Ascendant status.
Element 126: a naturally occurring superheavy element discovered—not created—by Hampton Dynamics in a deep-ocean volcanic environment. Its known states include nearly transparent liquid, bright-orange ceramic, dark-orange gas, and the energized Genesis state.
An unusual energetic emission released aggressively by gaseous Ax-126. High-grade ceramic Abyron strongly suppresses the phenomenon and can itself serve as shielding in advanced containment systems.
A nonlinear capability framework measuring Strength, Durability, Speed, Agility, Regeneration, Senses, Offense, Intellect, Combat, Mobility, and Stamina. It does not predict the winner of a fight.
The foundational Saint Dorsey catastrophe: an accidental HVA-01 containment failure in which Hampton safety systems unknowingly trigger volumetric bloom, the crystallized Ax-126 damages nearby energy infrastructure, a conventional explosion occurs, and roughly three seconds later the remaining lattice enters the brilliant Genesis state.
Born from the damaged remains of Ax-126 at Saint Dorsey, Abyron Powder temporarily amplifies existing human and superhuman systems but cannot create true Ascendants. Known as Dust in illicit markets, it can cause dependency, organ damage and lingering orange crystalline deposits. Authentic Genesis-origin material is finite.
One of Earth’s most advanced technology companies before Genesis. Its deep-ocean program discovered HVA-01, later identified as Abyron. Ax-126 became Hampton’s holy-grail material breakthrough rather than the source of the company’s technological strength.
The first-voyage discovery record: downward-moving bubbles, a nearly invisible liquid membrane, accidental volumetric bloom during ascent, submarine failure, liquid reversion at depth, apparent quantity increase, and the sample’s return to Saint Dorsey shortly before Genesis.
Origin records how a character’s abilities, extraordinary condition, or combat tools arose. Human training and technology, biological experimentation, inborn and external anomalies, Genesis-linked Ascendants, and divine empowerment are distinct origins. Demi-God and God identify divine origins rather than OPI-derived ranks.
A roughly seven-square-mile island associated with the greater Washington, D.C. area. Its Hampton deep-ocean division becomes ground zero for Genesis, then later expands into the Dorsey New General Facility as the island recovers and enters a major industrial boom.
The working publishing format: prose carries the complete story while selective illustrated or collage-style sequences define the moments that deserve to become iconic.
A fictional criminal cartel with its core in Mexico, a meaningful but limited U.S. border presence, a direct history with the ASC experiment that altered Gila Monster, and later access to diverted Ax-126 through the international supply chain.
Unstable Maximum Weight Response: the highest repeatable anomalous weight response an Abyron batch produces under standardized Hampton testing. Repeated volumetric bloom permanently lowers a batch’s future UMWR.
A controlled Ax-126 expansion process triggered by a specific combination of very high starting pressure, gradual decompression, rapid cooling, confinement, and trapped oxygen. Bloom increases usable volume but permanently degrades material quality.